Sacrifice
by subsider34
Summary: I failed. Betrayed by the ones I fought to save, imprisoned in a stasis cage, I failed. I was forced to watch as everything I fought for, everything I loved, everything I sacrificed for was consumed by the ceph. I should have died that day...but the suit, well, the suit changes all the rules. And people like me, we don't get to die.
1. Introduction

**Sacrifice  
**A Crysis x Legend of Zelda Fanfic

**Introduction**

**Disclaimer: I do not own either Crysis or Legend of Zelda. Nor do I own any canon characters, settings, plot points, etc. I **_**do**_** however own my original characters, settings, and plot points, etc. I also make no money from this endeavor, so please don't sue me.**

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**AN: This chapter has been revised and is now written in the third-person!  
**

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_"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end". — Seneca (Roman philosopher, mid-1st century AD)  
_

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**Kakariko Village  
Soon after Link's departure to Termina**

Silently the figure stalked forward. Nefarious purpose clear in its stance, its expression a frightful mixture of dark glee and single-minded focus. Slowly, ever so slowly, it steals closer to its objective: the family cookie jar, lying serenely upon the countertop. Backlit as it is by the light streaming through the windows; it could almost be mistaken for a gift from the goddesses.

Quickly taking in the field of battle, the boy notes everything. Cooking utensils hang from the walls, well organized and lovingly cared for. With a little relief, he sees that the hearth lies cold, devoid of coals. Clearly, no one has used the kitchen in some time. Thus assured of his safety, but nevertheless vigilant, the boy creeps closer.

Taking one last glace around, and careful to avoid making any noise, he pulls himself atop the stone countertop, removes the lid of the cookie jar, and thrusts his grubby little hand into it. Suddenly, his expression of glee turns into one of horror. The jar is empty! Frantically, he double-checks, only to come to one, dreadful conclusion: someone has stolen the cookies.

With new purpose, the boy scans the room for clues, only for his eyes to widen as they come to rest on the kitchen table. From his new, higher, vantage point, he can see what he missed before: the large chestnut dining table shows signs of recent use. Plates with half-eaten food and half-full cups warn of his foe's imminent return.

Panicking, he jumps off the countertop; only to be reminded that his hand is still in the cookie jar. The sound of shattering porcelain reverberates throughout the house and out into the garden. It is soon replaced by the sound of running, before the concerned form of his mother fills the doorway. Quickly taking in the scene, and noting her son, the shattered jar, and a conspicuous absence of cookies, her expression shifts from one of concern, to one of anger.

Glancing around and realizing how this looks, he opens his mouth to give voice to what really happened. Only to be cut off before he could begin.

"Don't start, Thomas! I told you that you'd have to wait until after dinner for a cookie—especially after what happened last time—but you just couldn't wait could you? Now you've not only eaten all the cookies, you've broken the jar!" With that, she swiftly darted forward, grabbing him by the ear starting to drag him into the foyer.

"Since you obviously have loads of free time on your hands, let's give you something productive with it, like collect Angie's cucoos for her". As he suppressed a plaintive moan under her warning glance, he caught movement upstairs.

Glancing up, he froze, for sitting there, munching on a cookie with a wicked grin on her face, was his sister, Angela. Righteous indignation consumed his being as she mockingly waved at him. But before he could act he was dragged out of the house by his mother. Knowing he would be indisposed for quite some time, he busied his mind with plotting revenge. For this, he knew, meant war.

* * *

**Meanwhile, Somewhere in the Gerudo Desert**

As they patrolled the seemingly never ending desert, unaware of the Cookie Wars taking place in Kakariko Village, the two purple sashed Gerudo women, resigned themselves to yet another day of uneventful monotony. Little do they know that today will be anything but monotonous.

Cresting the dune, they came to an abrupt halt. For in front of them, recently uncovered by the ever-shifting sands of the desert, was a structure unlike any they had ever seen or heard tale of. As the two cautiously approached the structure, she took in its condition.

The most obvious thing was that it had been the site of at least one fierce battle. _No,_ Neeshka thought as she eyed the size of the holes in the walls, _a siege._ The small fortress (for what else could survive that much punishment)—which was peppered with holes large and small, and even appeared _melted_ in some places—seemed to be built entirely out of some sort of metal.

What really got her attention though, was the state of the door.

"Anvira"! She called, motioning towards the twisted and broken door. "You ever seen anything that leaves claw marks like that"?

Running over from where she had been keeping watch, Anvira carefully examined the door. While the door had clearly been made to spit in half vertically and then slide into the wall, the last user quite obviously hadn't cared. The door had been bent inwards by some creature possessing large claws with enough force to leave an imprint in the metal itself.

Shaking her head, she responded, "No, I've never seen anything like that". Pausing to note the door's thickness, she continued, "and if the damage to that door is anything to go by, I'm not sure I really want to".

With a shrug Neeshka, started into the building, responding, "Well whatever it was, it can't have survived being buried in the sands for as long as this building has been".

"Shouldn't we at least inform our sisters before doing any exploring"?

Continuing into the building, the girl scoffed, "And miss out on the chance to do something exciting for a change? Come on Anvira, it has _weeks_ since anything this interesting happened, and I doubt Rue will let us accompany the party she sends out to investigate it".

Her only response was a resigned sigh and the sound of footsteps following her.

* * *

**Kakariko Village**

As she watched her mom drag Thomas off, Angela gleefully reflected on how well her day had gone thus far. Not only had she managed to get the cookies, but her annoying brother had taken the blame! It was a nice reversal for the eldest of the two siblings, who (in her mind at least) always seems to get blamed for everything. It was about time Thomas got what was coming to him.

Finishing the last of her illicitly procured sustenance, she moved over to the window to get one last satisfying look at Thomas before heading off to see her friends. Standing on her tip-toes, she gazed out the window overlooking the village. Spotting him, Angela couldn't help but laugh as he made a running jump at one of the cucoos, scaring it enough for it to take flight to the top of a nearby house. The expression on his now muddied face was priceless!

Still chuckling, Angela was just starting to turn away when she caught movement at the edge of her vision. Turning back to see the source, the girl froze. For standing there, surrounded by monsters and emanating malevolence far beyond what his stature would imply him capable of, was a man. In any other circumstance, he could have been described as handsome. His full head of dark brown hair was neatly trimmed and combed. While not prominent, his jaw was firmly set, indicating a strength of will that would have been commended had it not been directed as it was. But his most prominent feature was his eyes.

A vivid red, flecked with gold, they almost seemed to glow with an inner fire. A fire that was kept in check only by pupils that appeared to consume the very light about them, creating a stunning visual effect that would have fascinated her had she not been so scared. Surveying the village, seeming to see everything, pierce every wall, and look into the very souls of the villagers, his eyes came to rest on Thomas. And then he did the most terrifying thing Angela had ever seen: he smiled.

* * *

**Unknown Structure, Gerudo Desert  
**

"Come on Neeshka, there is _nothing here_!" Anvira shouted. "We've been searching this place for hours, but haven't found anything of value!"

Grinding her teeth and trying to keep her voice level despite my growing irritation, Neeshka responded, "And as I've reminded you several times so far, the most valuable things are kept in the treasury, which is usually located deep inside a fortress".

Privately though, Neeshka was of much the same point of view as her friend. So far they had searched over sixty rooms, but all they had find were strange tables covered in buttons which didn't work, signs in an unintelligible language, and crates whose contents had long ago rotted away to dust. Still, it was her idea to explore this ruin, and she'd be damned if they came away empty-handed.

Ignoring her scoff, the woman continued, "Furthermore, unlike clothing, jewels do _not_ rust, rot, or crumble to dust over time. So please, _shut up_!" Regaining control of herself, she added, "besides, if that map we saw a few rooms back was correct, the treasury should be…" she glanced around the corner we had just come to "…right there" she finished with smug satisfaction.

Looking at the door, Anvira rolled her eyes, "so how do we open it, miss 'I know everything'?"

Those few words were enough to bring Neeshka's smugness crashing down. Frowning, she started inspecting the door. Just like all the others, this one had a strange symbol on it that looked like two stick figure hands grasping each other's fingers. And, she noted with a sigh, just like all the others there was no discernible way to open it. Mentally berating herself for not having had the foresight to pack bombs, she started widening her search to the area immediately around the door. Maybe it was switch operated.

Just as Neeshka was about to finally, reluctantly, admit that this was in fact, a waste of time, she caught sight of something different. "Huh, the ones next to the other doors weren't glowing," Muttering, she reached forward to touch what looked to be a button. As her hand brushed against it, the earsplitting sound of moving parts that had gone unoiled for far too long filled the air. Clamping her hands tightly to her ears, she watched with wary anticipation as the door slowly, and with great reluctance, opened just enough for us to get through, before grinding to a halt.

Warily taking her hands off her ears and grinning at a glaring Anvira, Neeshka stepped into the treasury. Only for her grin to turn into one of awe at the sight before her. Before her, boxed in on all but one side and partially hidden by v-shaped bars, was one of the most unique sets of armor she had ever seen.

Unlike other armor she'd seen, which was composed of leather or metal, this suit was made up of some sort of rope with hexagons running along the length of each strand. All of which were held together by small pieces of metal at key locations like the knees and elbows. But the helmet topped even that, as it somehow had a blood red reflective visor. _How can anyone see through that?_ The complete effect made me want to shiver even while I was rejoicing at my new found booty.

That was when Neeshka tripped, yanking a cable out of the box. In her awe she hadn't even noticed the cables snaking to the box containing the armor. She _did_ however, notice the disembodied voice that rang out immediately,

"**Caution: Insufficient power to maintain stable stasis field. Failsafe activated. Reviving subject: 'Prophet'".**

Frantically looking around for the source of the voice, she was drawn back to the box by the sound of the bars unlatching and then retracting in quick succession. Suddenly the suit stared jerking around within the restraints holding it in place as electricity arced around it. Then all was still. After waiting a few seconds, and just as she was ready to declare the weirdness over, she was stunned yet again. For that's when the armor decided to take a step forward.

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**AN: So after years of reading FanFictions I've finally worked up enough nerve to try writing one. Just so we're clear here, in this story Psycho never rescued Prophet from the CELL Stasis Pod. Oh, he was planning to, but there wasn't time. Not after Dr. Hurst's plan to increase System X's energy harvesting efficiency backfired spectacularly, releasing the Alpha Ceph. After that, people were a bit preoccupied prior to dying.**

**How did that result in his appearance in the Zelda Universe you ask? Why didn't the Ceph kill or enslave Prophet? Well, you'll just have to keep reading to find out!**


	2. Discovery

**Sacrifice  
**A Crysis x Legend of Zelda Fanfic

**Discovery**

**Disclaimer: I do not own either Crysis or Legend of Zelda. Nor do I own any canon characters, settings, plot points, etc. I **_**do**_** however own my original characters, settings, and plot points, etc. I also make no money from this endeavor, so please don't sue me.**

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**AN: This chapter is now written in the third-person! Hopefully this makes it a more enjoyable read.**

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"_Mistakes are the portals of discovery". — James Joyce_

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**Gerudo Fortress, Gerudo Desert**

Rue paced her private chambers deep in thought. Something was wrong. For the past year, a sense of foreboding had pressed down upon her, but never more so than today. Today it is almost unbearable, an infuriating situation to be sure, as she still don't know where this sense of foreboding is coming from. Food stores are well stocked, water cisterns are unusually full, and monsters are increasingly rare. _Heck,_ she thought,_ even our training is going better than usual; several of the girls have done well enough to be promoted directly to red upon coming of age._ Of course, there was the possibility that the Kingdom of Hyrule was planning something, but they'd been quiet ever since the Gerudo King died so abruptly last year.

But no matter how unjustified the feelings seemed to be, she couldn't manage to dismiss them. "Bah! This is driving me insane! There's _nothing wrong_"! Rue shouted to herself.

It was, of course, at this point that she heard a knock on her door. Slightly relieved at the distraction, she called out, "Enter".

Opening the door, one of her white sashed elite guards rushed into the room. Her grim set face quickly dispelled any hope of good news.

"Rue, one of our patrols has gone missing!"

The sense of foreboding grew stronger, and Rue was almost hesitant to ask, "Who was in it?"

The guard's face soured, "Anvira and Neeshka".

Rue muttered a curse under her breath. Neeshka was always getting herself into trouble and she usually dragged Anvira along with her. Still, while only purples, they were both capable warriors. _What have they gotten themselves into this time?_ Rue thought with a sigh. She was just about to order a small contingent of troops to go in search of them when she remembered the feeling of foreboding. _Is this where that feeling of foreboding comes from? _She asked herself. _Did they discover something monstrous?_ The more she thought about it the more certain she became. She couldn't just send out regulars, she needed to send something more.

"Send Lenora's Raiders after them," Rue ordered after a lengthy pause. Noticing her guard's widening eyes, she elaborated, "As much trouble as those two cause, you can't deny that they are capable warriors. Especially Neeshka. If she wasn't constantly getting herself demoted, she would have made green months ago. If they found something that they couldn't handle…"

The elite nodded her head in understanding, "I'll see to it". Saluting, she left to pass along my orders.

Looking after her as the door closed, Rue couldn't help but murmur, "I just hope it will be enough".

* * *

**Unknown Structure, Gerudo Desert**

/Fluctuations in stasis field detected…Analyzing  
/…Analyzing…  
/…Analyzing…  
/Analysis Complete  
/Fluctuations are due to a sudden drop in electrical input to stasis field generator 'P4'.

/Probability of stasis pod failsafe activation…87.934%  
/Probability of stasis pod failsafe activation failure…34.569%

/Probability of stasis pod malfunction due to lack of maintenance…43.234%  
/Probability of external tampering to stasis pod leading to system failure…52.592%

/Scanning for external activity (Pass: 1,577,000,000,061,201)

_**Threat Detected.**_

/[REVISED] Probability of external tampering to stasis pod leading to system failure…98.598%

_**CAUTION! Risk falls outside of safe autonomous operating parameters!**_

/Begin suit reboot

/Running suit diagnostics…OK  
/Reinitializing CyFibril artificial muscles…Complete  
/Testing…Test Complete: CyFibril operating at 87.829% efficiency  
- Inefficiency logged in repair queue [Maintenance Level]  
/Bringing nanosuit user out of hibernation…Complete  
/Reinitializing neuro-integrated data connections…Complete  
/Mounting Personality Profile: "Major Laurence 'Prophet' Barnes"…Complete  
/Bringing user to full awareness...Complete

_So, _the post-human warrior reflected,_ it has finally come to this. After all this time, I'll finally get to see the consequences of CELL's idiocy and my incarceration through my own eyes. I failed; there's no escaping that. I failed and the human race as a whole paid the price._

_**Threat Identified: Human, Female, Unknown Subspecies**_

…_Human? Perhaps there is hope for me yet._

/Initiating sensory package…Complete

_Let's see what this brave new world has to offer._

As the post-human warrior's senses returned to him, he took a look at his 'savior', though not before pausing for a moment to appreciate the irony of this reversal from the norm.

She was standing a mere half-meter away from my stasis pod. She was clothed in a tight-fitting purple top, baggy purple pants, leather gloves, and hardened leather boots. Her light-brown skin was complimented by golden eyes and flaming red hair. To top off the look, her muscular arms held two sabers confidently as she peered at me with a look of dark glee.

It was a look Prophet would know anywhere, he'd received the same look from CELL personnel back when they'd managed to raid Gould's lab while he was helpless in a cradle. The same look that stayed on their faces as they executed Gould in cold blood. The same look they had when they sealed him in that cursed device! ...He'd be damned if he let someone look at him like that again.

Surging from the cell, he grabbed the woman by her neck and lifted her off the floor, her swords clattering to the ground in her shock.

"When will people learn that I'm not just some tool for you to use, treasure for you to possess, or some '_marvel'_ for you to study?! I am the last line of defense you people have against existential threats!"

Just as he was about to toss her aside in frustration, SECOND interrupted him.

_**Threat Detected.**_

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"I should have expected this," Anvira growled readying her saber. "Din, I should have expected this!"

Several hours ago, she'd foolishly followed Neeshka into a strange structure. Two minutes ago, they'd entered the 'vault' of the strange structure. 30 seconds after that, Neeshka tripped, and all hell broke loose. Her precious 'armor' turned out to be far more mobile than an inanimate object had any right to be. And, after the box it was in gave off a dazzling light show, promptly seized her by the neck with its left hand before making a series of unintelligible, yet undeniably menacing, sounds.

If Neeshka hadn't been in danger, and that..._thing_...hadn't moved so bloody fast, she would probably be laughing her head off. The look of horrified indignation on Neeshka's face at being caught so completely off guard was the funniest thing Anvira had seen in months. She'd be willing to bet 50 rupees that it stemmed from her wounded pride more than the danger of her predicament, too. _Why,_ Anvira idly pondered,_ must life's happiest moments always be offset by life threatening danger?_

Pushing the thought aside, she focused on how she was going to get her friend out of this. As best Anvira could tell, her foe was fast, strong, and armored from head to toe in…was that rope?

Her thoughts were rudely interrupted by Neeshka's pained yelp and cursing as she nursed her right hand. "Damn it, that armor is hard as steel!"

_Definitely not rope,_ Anvira mentally amended. _Still, the seams between the fibers look vulnerable, maybe if I can slip my blade in betw-_

**CAUTION! Stasis Cell cascade failure in progress! Failsafes activated in Cell Blocks A-F!**

There was that Din-cursed voice again! She had to act quickly before more of these things appeared. Quickly glancing around to make sure it wasn't already too late, she returned her gaze to the armored figure holding Neeshka. Only to blanch as her friend sailed through the air and into her, knocking the wind out of her. "Ooph!"

Groaning as her head lolled around, her vision a little blurry, she staggered to her feet, knowing that she was dead if she didn't get up. Looking up, she nearly fell back down in shock. "_Another_ new monster?!" she mumbled out. _Just what did we stumble into?!_

The new creature stood around six feet tall, and was armored in a strange mechanical suit of armor. Each arm had a long, wicked looking blade attached and _tentacles_ of all things flowed down its back. The most ominous thing about it though was not _what _it was but _where_ it was: the very position she had occupied just a moment ago. Paling as the implications sunk in, Anvira readied herself as best she could to defend herself, knowing it was futile in her current state, but unwilling to back down.

The earsplitting sound of screeching metal followed shortly thereafter by the ground shaking crash of the armor box landing a scant two meters away from her—and directly on the tentacle monster—solved the problem for her. Instinctively looking back at the position it had formerly occupied, she quickly raised her sabers once again, as the armored figure rushed towards her.

* * *

**Gerudo Desert**

Lenora was pissed. Here she was, leader of a squad second only to the elite guard, and she was being sent _on a milkrun_. Part of her thought it might be revenge for nearly beating Rue in their last sparring bout, but she knew Rue wasn't that petty. _Heck_, she thought with a smirk, _if the rumors were true, she despised pettiness more than most._ Lenora had even heard that Rue had once risked war with Hyrule by sending a messenger who couldn't stop ogling the Gerudo back to them naked, blindfolded, and hogtied. With a plaque hung around his neck reading: "The Pig, on display in his natural attire". While in the short-term tensions with Hyrule were raised, once they found out about what he'd been doing they couldn't get rid of him fast enough.

"Lenora, you're going to want to see this!"

Shaking the thoughts Rue's retribution against the petty from her mind, she jogged over to the forward scout who was motioning her over. "Did you find them?" Lenora asked hopefully, praying to the Goddess of Sand that she had.

"No," and just like that the hopes were dashed, "but I think I know where they went," she said, pointing towards something in the distance. Looking in the indicated direction, I could just make out the vague outline of a structure a few kilometers away, though the fading light of day made it difficult.

"Good work Sonya," Lenora said, clasping the scout on the shoulder. Turning to the others, she ordered them to move out to the structure. With any luck, she thought, they'd get this resolved and return home in time for breakfast.

She couldn't have known how wrong she was.


	3. Brave New World

**Sacrifice  
**A Crysis x Legend of Zelda Fanfic

**Brave New World**

**Disclaimer: I do not own either Crysis or Legend of Zelda. Nor do I own any canon characters, settings, plot points, etc. I **_**do**_** however own my original characters, settings, and plot points, etc. I also make no money from this endeavor, so please don't sue me.**

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**AN: Thank you skaianDestiny, YUIOP10, Lazy, Guest, and Anyone for your insightful reviews! The formatting recommendations by skaianDestiny, YUIOP10, and Guest were particularly useful. I can see how having "xxx POV" could break your immersion in the story, so in this chapter I'll try leaving that out. Hopefully you will still be able to tell whose point of view each section is written in. Otherwise, I may have to try the other method YUIOP10 suggested.**

**Also, I heard your calls for longer chapters. So this chapter is twice the size of the last. Honestly, I was keeping them short so that if I made some horrible gaff early on I wouldn't have to rewrite thousands of words.**

**Oh, and I resolved the incorrectly spelled 'canon' in my disclaimer, which I updated in every chapter. Good catch skaianDestiny!**

**EDIT: Now rewritten in the third-person!**

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_"Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle". - Lewis Carroll_

* * *

**Unknown Structure, Gerudo Desert**

_You know,_ Prophet mused while giving a power kick to the stasis chamber, _all things considered, this new world doesn't seem too much different from the old one. _Watching as the chamber landed heavily on the unfortunate Ceph Stalker, he charged over to make sure that it was dead. _The same ever-present threat of a painful death, similarly vulnerable humans in need of saving, and the same goddamn enemy!_

Seeing that his suspicions were correct and that the ceph was still moving, he corrected that with a good stomp to the head. _Maybe the fates hate me,_ he thought, chuckling, _after all I did cheat death. _

Shaking away the image of an enraged trio of old crones cursing at the obstinance his thread of life had at being threaded, he turned his attention back to the two women he'd just saved. One of them was on her feet, though she was obviously unsteady, but the other looked down for the count. From the look on the standing one's face, and her half-raised sabers, she was either confused or mistrusting of her senses. There was no way he'd get anything reliable out of a person in that condition. He might as well make sure the other one is OK. With that, he started making his way over to her.

The standing one was having none of it, though. With remarkable swiftness given her state, she inserted herself between me and the other woman, entering a defensive stance and yelling something unintelligible. _Wait…unintelligible? _Had he not had the helmet on he would have face-palmed. _Of _course _they don't speak any language I know,_ Prophet mentally berated himself,_ it's been several millennia since I was imprisoned! Still, maybe it is similar to another language from my time._

Figuring SECOND might have a solution, I was just about to ask for his help when he preempted me.

_**Initiating Language Analysis and Reconciliation Protocols**_

Lines of code began appearing on his HUD.

/Analysing Unknown Language…  
/…Analysing  
/…Analysis Complete. Unknown language is an 92.345% match for Ancient Japanese, used during the time of the Shoguns in the 15th Century, C.E.

/Compiling translation package…complete  
/Implementing speech and auditory filter…complete  
/Initiating translation package…complete

/CAUTION: Translation package is incomplete and may have some inaccuracies. Translation quality will be improved as language data is collected.

Turning his attention back to the woman blocking my way, Prophet tried it out.

"Listen, we don't have time for this! Assuming what the computer announced is true, then there could be anywhere from five to twenty-five more of them!" Seeing her eyes widen, Prophet knew I was getting through to her.

"Oh, so now you're willing to talk," she almost spat out. "Why should I trust you after what you did to Neeshka?!" she demanded, leveling a formidable glare at me.

"Seeing as I don't know the way out, and she" he said, gesturing towards the motionless woman, "isn't in any condition to fight, we will need to work together to get out of this situation alive!"

"Her condition is your fault!"

"So is your being alive!" That sobered her up fast. Pausing in her tirade, she continued glaring at him for several seconds, before breaking it with a sigh.

"Fine. We'll work together to get out of here." Looking up and glaring at me again, she continued, "But after we get out of here, ###Translation_Error###. Deal?"

Prophet weighed his options. On the one hand, this woman was offering to guide him out of the building safely, on the other, he quite literally couldn't understand what the cost of her help would be. Normally he wouldn't even consider it but…he _really _didn't feel like finding his way out of a ceph-infested maze via trial & error unarmed and alone. Not to mention he didn't have a clue about what was happening in the world these days.

"Deal," he responded, walking over to check on this "Neeshka" once the other one had lowered her swords, feeling her eyes drill a hole in the back of my his head all the while.

Crouching down to check on Neeshka, Prophet decided to get the introductions out of the way. "If we're going to be working together, it would be nice to have your name," he said, while confirming that Neeshka was alive and—other than some bruising around her neck and a slight concussion—well.

Finished with his examination, he looked back up to see a strange considering look on Anvira's face, as if she was making some deeply important decision. Whatever it was though, it was gone almost immediately, leaving him to wonder if he'd actually seen it at all.

With a dramatic sigh she responded, "Anvira, my name is Anvira". The pointed look she gave him after that revelation prompted him to reciprocate.

"They call me, Prophet".

* * *

**Gerudo Desert, Just outside the unknown structure  
Two Hours After Sunset**

The way to the structure took the group through several canyons. While it provided a pleasant break from the constant sand that covered most of the desert and made their approach difficult to detect from the building, Lenora would have rather had the maneuvering room and line of sight provided by the open desert. Having staged numerous ambushes herself, she was well aware of disadvantage they would be in should they be ambushed here.

_If it weren't for the fact that this is a time-sensitive rescue mission, I never would have gone for this plan._ Lenora thought with a sigh. _Those two had better be alive when we get there!_

Rounding the next bend in the canyon, the strange building came into sight. Framed as it was by sand dunes, the massive size of the structure became apparent. The architecture was surprisingly foreign, opting for stark utility at the expense of all else. Still, ugly as it is, she had to respect a structure that could take as much punishment as this one obviously had, be buried by the desert for untold years, and yet still remain standing. Her examination of the structure was cut off abruptly by a strange, barely audible chittering sound.

Entering a defensive stance and whipping her head around to try to find the source, she saw nothing. Out the corner of her eye she saw, with not a little bit of pride, that her sisters had quickly followed suit without prompting.

"What is it Lenora?" one of them called.

"We're not alone out here," she replied, never taking her eyes off the place she was _sure_ that sound had come from. "Someone, or something, is stalking us".

Forcing her eyes away from the spot, Lenora quickly took in the lay of the land. The building was a good 50 meters away, the first 20 of which were enclosed by canyon walls and the rest of which was over open desert. Worse, the closest defensible position _was_ the structure. And who knew what awaited them in , even the open desert was better than their current position.

"Whatever it is, we cannot allow it to trap us in this canyon. Sonya, take point, Amber, you're the rearguard, the rest of you, stay on your toes". Seeing them quickly position themselves in a loose formation, Lenora gave the order to head to the structure with haste.

Just as Sonya was about to exit the canyon, the chittering returned, this time from above and all around them. Then, faster than any of them thought possible, a creature of nightmares pounced on her, scarcely giving her time to let out startled shriek before eviscerating her. The creature's arms were snakelike appendages tipped with sharp blades that seemed to be able to move in any direction, while its dog-like legs seemed to let it jump insane distances quickly. Then there was the glowing red helmet that just screamed "I am a killer of men, slay me!"

Giving out a snarl of rage, Lenora quickly moved to counter, driving her glaive into the creature's now vulnerable back. The blade struck true, sliding into the creature's back with a disquieting squelching noise, before the fleshy part of the creature simply disintegrated.

That's when everything went to hell.

As if the creature's death were a signal, half a dozen of the things jumped down, a few landing on Raiders unfortunate enough to right underneath them, several were cut down as they landed, but the majority survived and began engaging the squad in melee combat. It was through the latter that it became harrowingly clear just how well trained these things were. Every time one was hit, the others seemed to adapt instantly to keep it from happening again. Despite the Raiders being some of the most proficient Gerudo around, they were slowly being whittled down.

Watching helplessly as another of her sisters was cut down; Lenora was forced to face the idea that she might fail the task set before her. _May the Goddess of Sands watch over Neeshka and Anvira, for we won't be able to._

* * *

**15 minutes earlier…  
Unknown Structure, Gerudo Desert**

All Prophet could think of as he followed Anvira to the exit, her carrying a torch, him carrying the still unconscious Neeshka, was that CELL had been serious about not letting him escape. For the past 15 minutes they had been power walking towards the exit, which was still nowhere in sight, and in that time they'd passed no less than ten carefully engineered checkpoints. Each of them was oriented to defend against attacks from the interior of the base and equipped with two visible sentry guns, cover high enough to be effective while standing, and enough guns and ammo to keep a squad supplied for days. _Not that they would be useful to me now, _he thought with a tinge of annoyance, _even the best ammunition goes bad after a few millennia_.

Turning his attention back to the present, he took note of his companion. Ever since they'd left the room he was imprisoned in, she hadn't spoken or made a sound. Considering the metal floor and her hardened leather shoes, her steps were amazingly silent. _She's either better trained than I gave her credit for, or scared and terrified of showing it, or both, _he mused. _Perhaps my initial impression of them was a bit off. Even the best warriors will fall quickly when surprised._

As they passed yet another empty, unpowered, checkpoint, Prophet's HUD suddenly lit up and specified one of the corpses.

_**Usable Weaponry Located**_, SECOND intoned.

Well that could certainly prove useful. "Anvira, hold up a minute, I found something."

Stopping, she whipped her head around replied, "What, now you collect junk? I thought you wanted out of here?"

Carefully placing Neeshka on the ground, Prophet walked over to the designated corpse. "I do, but I..." Trailing off he just stared at the corpse for a moment. While on the surface it looked just like any other, decayed down to bones, clothing long ago rotted, this one wore an amulet of sorts. One created from a collection of dog tags. Dog tags with names that had haunted his dreams back when he still had them. And around the neck of the skeleton, separately from the rest was one stamped, _Michael "Psycho" Sikes_.

"Psycho," Prophet almost whispered, the name being more difficult for me to speak than he anticipated. "What were you doing here?"

Looking around he noticed that Michael had been carrying two unusual pieces of hardware: A safe cracker that SECOND said was good enough to crack open a Stasis Cell and…a bow?

As Prophet picked up the unusual item, his suit immediately interfaced with it. The bow quickly unfolded to its full size and a crosshair appeared on his HUD.

_**Weapon Integration Complete: Predator Bow online.**_

"Prophet? You got a thing for skeletons now?"

Grabbing the dog tags, including the one around the skeleton's head, and the quiver for the bow he stood, turning to Anvira. Sparing a glance down at the dog tags the man pondered her question. "No…just the memories of who they were. The memories of those I failed."

Wrapping the tags around his new bow, just below the grip, he folded it up, placed it on his lower back, and picked up Neeshka again. Looking over to Anvira, whose expression was unusually neutral, Prophet spoke up. "Let's get out of here, too many bad memories".

She watched him for a moment before nodding, and taking the lead again. Sparing one last glance at Psycho's remains before continuing on, Prophet vowed in a voice below a whisper. "I won't let this happen again. I promise you that Michael."

* * *

**Unmapped Regions, SE of Hyrule Field**

Strolling through the dungeons, the man couldn't help but smile. The plaintive moans and pleading captives went completely unnoticed. His plan was coming together perfectly, and no one was the wiser. If what his scouts had reported was true, the Hyllians were scrambling their army to hunt down the Moblins that had raided Kakariko.

According to the news being circulated, a thousands strong Moblin army had decimated Kakariko Village, the minute Hyllian garrison standing no chance against such a numerically superior foe. They had then gone on to capture most of the population, and it was speculated that they were being eaten or used as slaves for some unknown purpose.

Idly glancing over into one of the cells occupied by just such a 'slave', he couldn't help but chuckle. From all appearances, the Hyllians had bought his ploy hook, line, and sinker. All it took was leaving a few dead Moblin corpses in the village and ensuring no one escaped, simple really.

Even better, the small distraction force he'd sent to the south had been exceptionally effective in redirecting scrutiny from where it could do harm. Their scorched earth tactics, so like those of the Moblins, served two purposes: maintain the illusion of Moblin activity, and cripple trade with their agricultural sector. That way, even should the truth be discovered, the Hyllians would still be forced to send their army to deal with the distraction force or risk starvation.

Reaching his destination and ignoring the salutes of the guards, he issued a simple order, "Open it!"

"Yes, sir!" responded the one on the right, jumping to attention before unlocking the cell, opening the door, and bidding the man to enter.

Doing so, the man turned and met the eyes of the guard, "Seal and lock the door once I'm in, do not open it unless I order you to, clear?" Seeing confusion begin to spread across the guard's face, he sighed. He had no time for this!

Quickly closing with the guard he grabbed him by the chest piece and brought the guard's head down to his own eye level, "Are we clear?!"

"Y-yes, s-sir!" the pathetic excuse for a guard replied. _Goddamn brownnosers, can't stand them._

"Good," he stated, releasing the guard and turning towards the room's sole occupant, "then see to it."

As soon as he heard the door latch, the man moved forward to the terrified and trembling occupant. "Now then, Thomas I believe is the name you go by these days, you and I have _much_ to discuss".

The boy's screams over the next few hours would haunt the guards' dreams for days to come.

* * *

**AN: In case you didn't catch it, I'm using a slightly modified Ocarina of Time map for this story. A country without any major source of food production (as seen in Ocarina of Time) just didn't make sense to me. So I added one in roughly same location as the Ordon province was in Twilight Princess (i.e., south-east of Lake Hylia and due-south of Castle Town).**


	4. Out of the Fire

**Sacrifice  
**A Crysis x Legend of Zelda Fanfic

**Out of the Fire**

**Disclaimer: I do not own either Crysis or Legend of Zelda. Nor do I own any canon characters, settings, plot points, etc. I **_**do**_** however own my original characters, settings, and plot points, etc. I also make no money from this endeavor, so please don't sue me.**

* * *

**AN: Sorry about the long wait for this chapter, but it was the hardest yet for me to write. This was probably due to all the battle in this chapter. Apparently, writing battles doesn't come as easily to me as writing conversations. So I spent extra time on those sections. I had to get it right, you know? **

**That said, I'm still not completely satisfied with this chapter. There are a few places in the chapter that I feel I could have expanded on (but couldn't figure out how). Probably would have helped to have a Beta. Any volunteers for the job?**

**Enough of my rambling, onto the story!**

**Edit: Now rewritten in the third-person!**

* * *

_"Nothing is predestined: The obstacles of your past can become the gateways that lead to new beginnings". — Ralph Blum_

* * *

**Unknown Structure, Gerudo Desert**

This man, Prophet—for Anvira was now certain that underneath that armor there was a man—was one of the most intriguing finds she'd ever made. He seemed to be a compilation of paradoxes. When Neeshka had first let him out, his actions had been undeniably hostile, only for him to go and…the thought was too embarrassing to continue. Then he had agreed to undergo the rite, without question or complaint, just to get out this place. Only for him to abruptly stop to pay his respects to the dead. At the time, she'd snorted in derision, thinking, _only those idiot Hyllians would think that the dead could hear you, or would have anything good to say._

But once again, he had proven her assumptions wrong. He wasn't paying his respects because they were dead, but because he'd somehow failed them in the past, a reason all too familiar to her. Even more impressive, he had come away with more than just a soothed conscience. He had somehow managed to acquire a strange, if lethal-looking bow.

_Who is this man?_ she asked herself, _how did he fail that person, and why?_ _And,_ she thought looking him over again as we turned a corner, _what does he look like out of his armor?_

Seeing the exit finally come into view, Anvira shook the thought from her head. Now was not the time for that, and she was just as eager as her companion to be out of the seemingly endless corpse-filled corridors. The presence of the 'ceph'—as Prophet had called them—in said corridors only made the idea of a swift exit to the safety of the desert that much more appealing.

A woman's startled shriek, followed by a strange chittering noise and the clashing of metal dashed any hope of safety. Breaking into a sprint, the two of them exited the building. Despite Anvira's best efforts, and Prophet still being encumbered by Neeshka, he managed to cover the distance more quickly than she did.

By the time she'd managed to catch up, Prophet had already covered nearly ten meters, unceremoniously dumped Neeshka on the ground, readied his bow and fired so quickly that it seemed like Neeshka had barely hit the ground by the time his arrow was in flight. The death cry of a ceph followed soon after, and Anvira couldn't help but be seriously impressed by Prophet's speed and accuracy.

Focusing on the source of the cry, Anvira was shocked to see a Gerudo squad composed of reds and greens being steadily eliminated by more of those ceph. Already the squad had been cut down to less than half its normal size of ten people. Shock quickly giving way to rage, she shot forward to lend aid to her sisters.

* * *

**Gerudo Desert**

Nocking another arrow, Prophet aimed at another Ceph Stalker and let fly, careful to ensure that if he missed, the arrow wouldn't hit one of those women. Women, he noted, who were dressed in different colored versions of Anvira's attire. It kind of reminded him of the flight crews he saw back on the _U.S.S. Constitution_. Maybe they represented different specialties or ranks here as well?

Filing the thought away as 'something to think about when not fighting ceph', he continued his barrage of arrows, opting for the light-draw option on the bow in an effort to get them out faster and keep the ceph from killing anyone else. Razor sharp spikes of death flew through the air silently before hitting their targets. Most were embedded in a Stalker's vulnerable back or head, but a few went wide, the target having moved, or the arrows having been blown off course by a sudden and unfortunate gust of wind.

_**Ammo Depleted.**_

"Ah, the catch, was wondering when you'd show up," he quietly groused. He'd only managed to kill three of the ceph attacking the group, and his efforts to distract the ceph from their prey and keep them from killing anyone else had failed. Not only had they maintained their focus, they had managed to skewer three more of the warriors before going down. Still, it was enough for the two remaining Gerudo to have a chance double-teaming the last one. _Or triple-teaming_, he amended; wincing as Anvira's half-hearted attempt at stealth nearly added her to the tally of dead.

Maybe he should go-

_**Critical Threat Detected, Maximum Armor.**_

Whirling around, Prophet just managed to catch a glimpse of the rapidly growing form of Ceph Stalker before it landed on him. Grunting in pain as the force of the impact knocked him onto his back; he somehow managed to rally himself enough to roll to the side just as a pair of razor sharp blades pierced ground where he'd been just moments before.

Unfortunately, the sand did little to slow the ceph down. Rather than take the time to pull its blades out of the ground before continuing the attack, the ceph opted to strike from below, cutting through the free flowing sand towards him, forcing the post-human soldier to roll again to avoid the blades that erupted from the ground. _Hell, no! _ Prophet mentally shouted,_ I am _not_ getting impaled by one of you bastards again!_

Lashing out against the leg of the Stalker's exoskeleton, he managed to stumble it just enough for me to jump to his feet and take up a defensive position. Too bad it seemed to be expecting this. Even as he settled into a sturdy defensive stance, the ceph had already begun its swing. By the time Prophet saw it, all he had time to do was widen his eyes before being hit by the flat of the ceph's right blade.

The force of the strike was nearly enough knock him off his feet again, the familiar iron taste of blood filling his mouth.

_**Energy Depleted.**_

"Oh, come on!" he cried, diving to the side to avoid the second blade. "How the heck am I supposed to defeat this thing unarmed?!" Even as he said it though, his eyes came to rest on Neeshka's form. Or rather, the place where her form had been, now nothing more than a Neeshka shaped indentation in the sand.

"Hyaaah!" a furious sounding voice shouted, soon followed by the death cries of the Stalker. Whipping his head around, Prophet was just in time to see the ceph disintegrate, its exoskeleton falling with a 'thunk'. And standing on top of it, looking terribly smug, was Neeshka.

"…I'm never going to live this down, am I?" he asked rhetorically. Her widening grin was all the answer he needed.

* * *

**Moments Earlier…**

"Ugh…," Neeshka groaned weakly, grimacing at the furious headache that was pounding against her skull. "What hit me?" Thinking back, she recalled the last thing that happened.

...

_Neeshka quickly masked the look of horror on her face with one of indignant rage even as she stewed in embarrassment. She hadn't been caught off guard this badly since she was nine years old! She took a few moments to contemplate the teasing she'd be subjected to when it became widely known, but quickly shoved that thought aside. It was too terrible to think about._

_Instead, she focused on analyzing the person holding her up by the neck. Whoever it was, they were currently speaking to her in some unintelligible language. Though she couldn't understand a wick of what it was saying, the speaker was clearly masculine, and just as clearly angry with her for some reason._

As if I'd care what he thought after putting me through this embarrassment,_ she fumed. _I'll show him what I think of his 'concerns'!_ Neeshka quickly followed the thought up with action, slamming her fist into the rope-like armor with all her might. Which, given the pain that immediately emanated from said hand, was a mistake. _

"_Damn it, that armor is hard as steel!" she shouted, yelping in pain and nursing what she was sure was at least one broken finger._

_Focused as she was on her aching hand, Neeshka missed the nearly imperceptible turn of the man's head. The sudden rush of air as she was thrown forward was a different story. But before she had much time to think about it, Neeshka felt herself hit something soft and boney, before continuing her trajectory towards the ground. Landing hard, she felt her head whiplash towards the ground. A loud 'crack' seemed to reverberate through her skull, before everything went dark._

...

Neeshka's eyes snapped open, darting around in a panic for a moment before she regained control of herself. As her senses began to return to her, and her vision became clearer, she almost regretted waking up in the first place. The first thing she noticed was the screams of her sisters fighting and dying. The second thing she noticed was the figure of her tormenter standing above her, shooting his last arrow towards the source of those screams. The third thing she noticed was a monstrous creature sneaking up behind him. In her addled state, all she could think was, _Serves that son of a Hyllian right for killing my sisters!_

Shifting her head so she could see what was left of the Gerudos, her thoughts came to a screeching halt. The remaining three Gerudos were fighting what looked like the last of a small force of the same monsters, while numerous arrow-filled corpses of its brethren lay all around them. _What the…he _helped_ them?! Why in Din's name would he hel- You know what, never mind. I'll figure it out later._ Grabbing a hold of her saber, which was oddly still in her possession, Neeshka carefully got to her feet. Her attention more focused on keeping herself standing than the world around her.

The 'thump' of something heavy landing to her left, followed by a grunt of pain, caused her to jerk her head in that direction, and she nearly found herself on the ground again. Steadying herself, Neeshak took in the sight before her. Within the few moments that she'd been distracted, the monster had pounced on the warrior, knocked him down, and nearly run him through. While the man had quickly gotten to his feet, she could tell that he was at a loss as to how to defeat the thing.

Normally Neeshka wouldn't have bothered helping a stranger so soon after they had thoroughly humiliated her, but this situation was just too perfect for her to pass up. _Turnabout is fair play, after all, _she thought, a slight smirk making its way onto her face. Shifting into a basic combat stance Neeshka made her way over to the pair, noting how the monster had been kind enough to turn its back to her.

Quickly seizing the opportunity, Neeshka pounced on the monstrosity, a battle cry escaping her lips as she planted her sword in its vulnerable back. The loud and tortured cry it let out nearly caused her to lose her grip on the sword as her headache immediately reasserted itself, pain flaring to the forefront of Neeshka's consciousness. She managed to do it somehow though, even as the now dead monster fell forward.

With a look of smug satisfaction on her face, Neeshka leveled her gaze at the man she had saved.

He stared at me for a moment before speaking, his voice full of something I couldn't identify. "…I'm never going to live this down, am I?"

The grin that threatened to split her face was all the answer he needed.

* * *

Staring at the remains of the battlefield, Lenora couldn't help but shudder. The creatures had staged and executed a perfect ambush with horrifying efficiency, cutting and slicing through her sisters with frightening ease. In the back of her mind, she knew these creatures would haunt her dreams for years to come. The worst part was that they _knew_ something was wrong before they were ambushed. They knew that they were going into a fight, that an enemy was likely going to ambush them from the cliffs, yet despite the squad's best efforts, preparations, and numerical superiority, they would have lost that fight without outside assistance.

"Lenora!" she heard as if from a distance, not taking her gaze off the battlefield.

"Lenora!" The person called again, this time closer and accompanied by someone shaking her shoulder. Snapping out of her reverie, Lenora turned to find Anvira the source of the call. _Ironic how we were sent to rescue her and Neeshka, only to find ourselves the ones needing rescuing,_ Lenora thought humorously.

"Lenora, you wanted to talk to me?"

Schooling her features, Lenora nodded. "Yes," she said, pointing over to the hulking armored form currently working on extracting an arrow from the cliff face. "Who, or _what_ is that?" she demanded, slightly accusingly. _They should know better than to let foreigners just meander about as they please without permission! Especially ones found so deep in our territory!_

Anvira's eyes widened slightly at her tone, before she too schooled her face. "He calls himself Prophet. We found him…trapped deep in that structure," she said, motioning towards the building, "after he…helped me defeat one of those 'ceph' creatures, he offered to help fight off any more in exchange for leading him to the exit."

Narrowing her eyes, Lenora looked for any fault in the woman's expression. The pauses in her statements made her suspicious. While no Gerudo would outright lie about something so important to her sisters, she was sure there were things Anvira had left out or 'rephrased'. Unfortunately, Anvira had always been good at hiding her feelings when she wanted to. Probably had something to do with all the trouble she got into with Neeshka.

Filing that suspicion away, Lenora continued with the debriefing. "And you just accepted this stranger's offer? You don't know anything about him other than that he was 'trapped' deep in a highly mysterious structure, and you accepted his offer without condition?!" She asked, incredulously. _Surely,_ she thought,_ she's smarter than that._

Blushing a bit, Anvira broke her gaze, looking down and mumbling something she couldn't catch. Now she knew there was more to this than Anvira had let on.

"What was that?" Lenora asked, voice hardening as she leveled a glare at her sister. If she had done something that endangered her sisters…

"I…well, I may have asked him to undergo the rite". Anvira said quietly.

Lenora's voice froze in her throat; she was caught completely off guard. Lenora had expected her to say a lot of things, that she had acted recklessly, let her emotions steer her course of action rather than logic, but not this, never this. Anvira had offered a complete stranger, and a _man_ at that, the chance to undergo the rite of the Gerudo. If he had accepted her offer…

Struggling to find her voice, Lenora somehow managed to croak out the all-important question. "And he agreed?"

Still refusing to meet her eyes, Anvira nodded her head, yes.

Drawing in a deep breath, and letting it out slowly, Lenora thought of the impact of Anvira's actions. Now that the rite had been invoked, no Gerudo was allowed to harm him unless he took action against them or their sisters. _Smart girl, _she allowed, _normally trespassers are to be killed on sight, but those chosen to undergo the rite are considered guests, not trespassers. I underestimated her political savvy._

But something still bothered her. Giving voice to her concern, she asked, "What could have possibly inspired you to invoke the rite for a complete stranger? Especially one who had been trapped?"

The question seemed to catch Anvira off guard, as she glanced up as if to make sure she was hearing her correctly. Seeing that she was, Anvira let out a sigh of resignation before responding. "He managed to get Neeshka in a stranglehold in seconds, before going on to save both our lives from a ceph that had snuck up on us," she admitted quickly, as if trying to get the whole thing over with as quickly as possible.

_That would do it, _Lenora thought,_ besting a proficient warrior in seconds, and then saving the lives of two Gerudos from a threat they didn't even know was there…Anyone who can do that has potential._

Still, this development complicated things. Not only had their 'rescue' mission itself needed rescuing, but the Gerudo were now honor bound to lead a unknown into the very heart of their territory. Oh, and they had encountered a new enemy capable of successfully ambushing one of the best Gerudo squads around!

"Rue is not going to like this," she muttered under her breath.

"Ma'am?"

Shaking thoughts of how to present this complication to Rue when they got back from her mind, Lenora refocused on the woman before her. _I wonder if she knows what she's gotten herself into…I'd better make sure._

"So," Lenora began, "have you started his lessons yet?"


	5. And Into the Red Hot Sands

**Sacrifice  
**A Crysis x Legend of Zelda Fanfic

**And Into the Red Hot Sands**

**Disclaimer: I do not own either Crysis or Legend of Zelda. Nor do I own any canon characters, settings, plot points, etc. I do however own my original characters, settings, and plot points, etc. I also make no money from this endeavor, so please don't sue me.**

* * *

**AN: Sorry for the tardiness of this chapter. In addition to dealing with finals and graduating, this chapter ended up being the most revised one yet. I kept playing with which scenes to include, the underlying theme of the scenes, etc. I'm not completely happy with this chapter, but I think I did pretty well all things considered.**

**In any case, the chapter is finally out. Enjoy!**

**EDIT: Now rewritten in the third-person!**

* * *

_"These," he said gravely, "are unpleasant facts; I know it. But then most historical facts are unpleasant." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World, Ch. 2_

* * *

**Gerudo Desert, on approach to Gerudo Fortress  
Just before dawn**

As their little group moved ever closer to their destination, Prophet couldn't help but think back to the "ultra-condensed version of Gerudo history" Anvira had tried to cram into his mind over the past few hours. _Ultra-condensed was right;_ he mused, _if it hadn't been for SECOND, there is no way I would have been able to keep up her, especially as she saw fit to skip over so much of the "commonly known" context that I don't have. _Still, with the help of SECOND, he'd managed to form a rough understanding of the history of the Gerudo people.

Frankly, Prophet was more concerned with the urgency and suddenness with which she pursued his education than his ability to absorb everything. It didn't escape his notice that this change in her behavior immediately followed her debriefing. But the few times he had tried to raise the issue, she'd brushed his concerns aside, claiming that she was merely trying to ensure he didn't embarrass himself too badly, and quickly redirecting the conversation back to the lessons. Eventually it got to the point where he had to either let it slide, or find a new source of Intel. And he desperately needed Intel.

According to SECOND, the last place CELL had transported his stasis chamber to was a secure R&D facility several miles outside of New York City. One glace at the seemingly endless sea of sand dunes that was once the North Atlantic was enough to tell him that the local geography had radically changed over the millennia. He also had no information on natural hazards, wildlife, powers that be, or cultural expectations & taboos. While he was nearly certain that he could fight my way out any trouble he got himself into, avoiding that trouble in the first place was a different story.

Moreover, Prophet was not one to make the same mistake twice. His decision to ignore politics back during the war was a mistake that left him vulnerable to CELL's machinations. Machinations that ultimately put him in that damned cell while the ceph killed everything. _No,_ he vowed to himself, _I won't make the same mistake again._

As they rounded another sand dune, an impressive structure came into view. Military man that he was, Prophet immediately noticed how there was only one entrance, a long sloped ramp framed by high walls and guarded by a tall gate and patrolling Gerudos, a kill zone if he'd ever seen one. At the far end of the ramp, a good-sized fortress was sprawled. At three stories tall, made of stone, and making extensive use of right angles, the structure wasn't the prettiest he'd seen, nor the largest, but he couldn't help but be impressed with what these people had managed to do without steel structural supports.

As the group drew closer to the fortress, Lenora said something to the only other green left standing after the ceph ambush, before making her way back to Prophet, pulling some sort of cloth from somewhere on her uniform.

Reaching him, she thrust the cloth into his face. "Tie this around your left arm," she said without introduction. The cloth was a vibrant red, obviously made to be attention getting. Emblazoned in the center in gold was some sort of emblem or symbol. It looked like an open-end wrench, with each side encircling a bolt, and a pillow above and below the wrench.

Taking the cloth and looking it over, Prophet couldn't help but ask, "Why?" As soon as he touched it, a flood of information appeared in his vision, before quickly vanishing, leaving an analysis of the material behind.

/Analyzing material, ID: GTextMat-1…Analysis complete  
/GTextMat-1 is of organic origin, and possesses chemical similarities with, and physical properties closely analogous to, spider silk, with the exception of supercontraction. Fabrics woven from this material are highly resilient tearing and are stronger than steel.

_Huh,_ Prophet thought,_ no wonder they don't wear armor. Their clothing is strong enough to be a light armor all on its own._

"So that you don't get shot," she replied curtly, moving back to the front of the group before he could ask her any more questions.

Mentally shrugging, Prophet did as she asked. _I wonder how often non-Gerudos are invited to their fortress._ He pondered._ It can't be that rare, right?_

As if the universe were mocking him, a shout suddenly rang out from what appeared to be a lookout tower, prompting an impressively fast response. Women who had been patrolling rushed to reinforce those guarding the gate or got to defensive positions on the walls. From what he could tell, it took just under two minutes for them to get in position. _Impressive response time,_ he mused, absently noting how clean their formations were.

Leaning his head over to Anvira, he asked, "Is this how you usually greet squads coming back from the field?"

Flashing the post-human warrior a grin, she cheekily replied, "No, just the ones escorting an unknown, heavily armored man wearing an armband emblazoned with the seal of the Gerudo".

Nodding and looking back down at the armband, Prophet couldn't help but feel uncomfortable wearing it there—the same place where the American flag had once stood. Wearing the symbol of another nation in its place felt somehow wrong…even if the nation that he'd served no longer existed, and hadn't for some time. Hell, after the events on Lingshan Islands any lingering remnants of respect he's had for his superiors vanished. But still…

Shaking his head and setting his gaze back on the approaching fort, Prophet brought his attention back to the present. In the end, he'd do what he had always done: adapt, survive, and pray that the world will be a better place for his actions.

* * *

**Gerudo Fortress, Gerudo Desert**

With Lenora's Raiders several hours overdue, Rue was just about to send a much larger force to confront whatever they had run into when the lookout's shout sounded through the dry desert air. "Lenora's Raiders are back with Neeshka and Anvira! It also looks like they have a pris-…" The lookout trailed off for the briefest of periods before continuing, "It looks like they have a _guest_ with them!"

_That _caught her attention. The Gerudos hadn't had any guests at the fortress since she'd ordered that _pig_ of a hyllian sent back to Hyrule naked and hogtied. Running to the nearest lookout post—located near her quarters for just such occasions—Rue quickly scrambled up the ladder.

"What's the situation Nessa?" She called out, taking proffered spyglass from the woman's hands.

"The group is definitely headed by Lenora, though only one of her Raiders is accompanying her. Both Neeshka and Anvira are with them, as well as one unknown."

"If he's unknown, why did you call him a guest?" She asked, bringing the spyglass up to her eye.

"Whoever he is, he's wearing our seal on an armband around his left arm".

Pausing as the figure came into focus, Rue drew in a sharp breath. Whoever it was, they were covered head to toe in some of the strangest armor she'd ever seen, though that did nothing to detract from the sense of lethality that seemed to emanate from it. But it was the sight of an armband around his left arm—not his right, as that would indicate that the women were coming here against their will—that took her breath away in disbelief.

It was red, _red_! Only initiates wore armbands of that color, and no man had _ever_ been an initiate to the Gerudo. This wasn't due to any form of discrimination against males, but rather because in Gerudo culture, Gerudo males are kings right off the bat, no career climbing required. This meant that men seeking to join, unlike women who could be trained on the job, were evaluated for their leadership qualities in addition to their combat abilities. Through combination of Gerudo pride in their independence and exceedingly high standards for their kings, no man had ever become an initiate. Until now, apparently.

_I would not want to be in the shoes of whoever invited him should he fail the rite._ She thought, darkly.

Lowering the spyglass, the leader of the Gerudos was about to begin giving orders to assemble a welcoming party when Nessa interrupted her.

"Already done, Rue." Shooting her a look, she elaborated, "I figured that you'd want to give a strong showing to our guest".

"Well, you were right," Rue responded with a nod, turning to make her way down to greet the party, "though, if this is what it looks like, a strong showing will be the least of our concerns". And with that, she slid down the ladder and hurriedly made her way to the inner entrance to greet their guest.

* * *

Over the past few hours, Neeshka had slowly been brought up to speed on what had happened while she was unconscious. The ceph almost killing Anvira, Prophet saving her by tossing Neeshka at her friend, him carrying Neeshka out of the building,—as if he hadn't embarrassed her enough already!—acquiring that bow of his, and the battle between Lenora's Raiders and the ceph. Oh, and then there was the issue of an oblivious Anvira inviting Prophet to undergo the rite.

Apparently, she hadn't fully considered the implications of her actions until Lenora took her aside and explained it to her. His acceptance of her invitation to join the Gerudo placed a set of responsibilities on both of them. While he was expected to do his damnedest to pass the rite and learn from his mentor, she was expected mentor him and make sure that he would be of use to the Gerudo if he did.

Had she had invited a woman or girl, her task would have been relatively easy: just make sure that they know the basics of Gerudo culture and could fight. By choosing to invite a man, her task had become far weightier; she had to prepare someone for kingship within _weeks_. _It's a good thing he's already a proficient combatant, seems to have a knack for leadership, and has a sharp head on his shoulders, or her task would be impossible, _Neeshka thought.

Watching Anvira out the side of her vision and listening as she took advantage of the opportunity to explain the meanings and symbolism of different parts of Gerudo dress in rapid-fire speech that would have done an auctioneer proud, Neeshka couldn't help but admire her friend's adaptability. Despite the number and variety of unforeseen circumstances she'd found herself in over the past few hours, Anvira always seemed to regain her footing quickly.

_Still,_ she thought, taking in Anvira's slightly haggard appearance,_ she would probably appreciate some help and I _was_ the one who woke him up._

Making a mental note to offer to help her out in the future, the woman returned her attention to their surroundings just as they reached the training field—or as the guards preferred to call it, the kill zone—just in front of the inner gates. Much like the main entrance they had just passed, the field in front of the inner gate was dominated by Gerudos in in well-formed defensive formations. Unlike the ones we had previously seen, which were composed predominantly of purples, with a few reds and greens thrown into the mix for good measure, these were all dressed in white. They were the elite guards. _Rue really pulled out all the stops with this one, _she mused.

As their ragtag group approached the gate, Neeshka noticed that Rue herself was there, an unreadable expression on her face. She stood a step in front of her guards, but made no move to approach the group, forcing them to go to her. Clearly, she wanted to establish her authority right off the bat. Stopping with the rest of the group a short ways away from Rue and her entourage, Lenora spoke up.

"As you ordered," she began, a hint of weariness seeping into her tone, "we tracked down and returned with Neeshka and Anvira". Shifting her gaze to us, she continued with a forced smile, "You were right about them stumbling onto more than they could handle Rue. By the time we found them, Neeshka was unconscious, we were being ambushed, and only the timely intervention of those two," she waved in the direction of Prophet and Anvira, "let any of us escape with our lives".

Calmly ignoring the furious glare Neeshka leveled at her for mentioning her moment of weakness in front of everyone, she continued, "The creatures that ambushed us were like nothing I've seen or heard of before. Not only were they able to get the drop on us, they were faster, more agile, and stronger than us". That news was greeted with worried frowns and murmurs. Lenora's Raiders were well known for their almost supernatural ability to detect ambushes and turn them against their would be ambushers. That an unknown had gotten the drop on them was concerning, that that same opponent was more than a match for them, one-on-one was downright frightening. Not that they'd ever let it show on their faces.

"I see…and who is this warrior that aided you?" Rue asked, looking pointedly at Prophet.

The man answered the question himself, "They call me, Prophet".

"'Prophet', isn't that rather presumptuous? Not to mention it doesn't answer my question. That's a role, not a name. So I'll ask you again, _who are you?_"

* * *

"_Who are you?"_ she asked. It was such a seemingly simple question; one that Prophet been expecting but dreading ever since he woke up. For it was a question whose answer would reveal much of who he is, what drives him, what he believes. Knowing stuff like that makes a man predictable, which was likely the intent in the first place.

Locking eyes with the Rue, the woman who was apparently in charge, Prophet held her gaze for a moment before offering a slight nod and stepping forward.

Fixing her with a piercing gaze, he began, "My full name is Laurence Barnes, and I am or rather was, a Major in the United States Army's 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, or Delta Force for short. 'Prophet' was my call sign."

Even without shifting his gaze, Prophet could tell that his words had had an impact. The guards around him tensed up after hearing the words "Major" and "Army". Rue was looking at him as if he was a spy, and most of those with him took a step back, Neeshka and Anvira being the notable exceptions.

"And what," Rue began, a venomous tinge to her voice, "does this 'United States' hope to gain by infiltrating the Gerudos?"

"Nothing," he replied flatly, "they don't want or need anything anymore".

The glare she leveled on him demanded he continue. Turning his gaze to the sunrise beginning to paint the horizon, he acquiesced, "They're all gone, Rue. The people, the government, maybe even the land itself, all gone. I was the only one that knew what was coming, and I failed to stop the invasion. I was betrayed by those I fought to save and imprisoned in a stasis cage. When the ceph finally launched their invasion, I wasn't able to lift a finger against them. Instead, I was forced to watch as everything I fought for, everything I loved, everything I sacrificed for was consumed by the ceph."

Turning back to her, Prophet tried to impress upon her the importance of his next words. "I had to watch, imprisoned and impotent, as the world I had sacrificed so much for was consumed by the very threat I had sworn to defend it against. I had to watch as the world was stripped of life. And I had to watch as the ones responsible, having destroyed all they could, left me there to die."

By this time, the entire fortress had gone deathly silent. Everyone from the elite guard to the young girls in training listening intently. "Yet for all the death that surrounded me, for all my suffering, I somehow survived. I don't know whether it was due to luck, fate, or the twisted machinations of a higher power, but I survived that invasion and the ensuing millennia. Eventually, I slumbered. And then, one day ago, I was woken up and released by Neeshka and Anvira. The rest, as they say, is history."

Rue continued to glare at the man for a few moments before finally breaking her gaze with a snort of derision. "I don't know whether that story is true or not, but I know that you believe it. You're not lying to us. For now, that's enough to keep me from having you executed as a spy. However," she began menacingly, "if I find that you're purposefully endangering the Gerudo or doing anything else to violate your protection while undertaking the rite I will not hesitate to put you down. Understood?"

Prophet made a mental note to ask Neeshka or Anvira more about this 'rite' before looking Rue in the eye and nodding, "Understood."


	6. Trials

**Sacrifice  
**A Crysis x Legend of Zelda Fanfic

**Trials**

**Disclaimer: I do not own either Crysis or Legend of Zelda. Nor do I own any canon characters, settings, plot points, etc. I **_**do**_** however own my original characters, settings, and plot points, etc. I also make no money from this endeavor, so please don't sue me.**

* * *

**AN: I'm back! And I even have a new chapter to share with you!  
**

**Please note that _all previous chapters _have been rewritten in the third-person. The plot of the story hasn't changed, and no revelations were added to those chapters, but I believe they are a far more enjoyable read than they were before.**

**In any case, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

"_To succeed in life, you need two things: ignorance and confidence." — Mark Twain_

* * *

**Gerudo Fortress, Gerudo Desert  
One day after first entering the fortress.**

The woman crashed to the ground, landing on the unforgiving soil that made up the sparring arena with an audible 'thump'. Quickly rolling to the side, she was just fast enough to avoid a blow aimed at her head that would have knocked her out had it connected.

Quickly recovering, she lashed out with her legs, forcing her opponent to jump back and giving her the space she needed to roll to her feet, mirroring her opponent's defensive stance.

Each of them carefully surveyed the other, looking for any weaknesses. Unfortunately, for them both, other than the fatigue they were both suffering from, there was precious little to exploit. The match had been going on for nearly an hour, far longer than any but the most determined opponents would last. _Not that anything less would have satisfied either of us,_ the woman thought, her lips twitching into the faintest of smirks as she identified a fleeting opportunity to strike.

She took it.

Feinting left, she drove her right fist into Prophet's armpit, drawing a satisfying grunt of pain from her opponent as his left arm went limp. Satisfaction that was quickly erased as her legs were kicked out from under her. _Damnit,_ she thought furiously,_ I always forget he fights with his legs!_

Gerudo fighting styles predominantly focus on the upper body for offense, while relegating the lower body to defensive, evasive, and positioning moves. As such, Prophet's use of full-body combat techniques, using both the upper and lower body for offense, defense, and positioning had been crippling to say the least. This was especially true amongst the older Gerudos who, after years of training, had developed a subconscious assumption that attacks only came from the upper body.

As the most senior and experienced Gerudo around, Rue was hit harder by this than most. But she wasn't about to just give up her position as top combatant. Her indomitable determination to win, or at least avoid losing was the main reason why she, despite being nearly 60 years old (a feat in and of itself given the hostile desert environment Gerudos live in), was still considered to be the best hand-to-hand combatant the Gerudo had to offer!

Too bad she didn't have a choice in the matter. By the time her bearings returned after this latest encounter with the ground, Rue found herself pinned by Prophet. With a snarl, she struggled to break free of her newfound captor, barely managing to lift the heavy bastard a few millimeters before her strength gave out and her gains were lost. She was beaten.

Grimacing, she uttered the words she hadn't said in nearly thirty years, "I yield". And just like that, a legend began.

* * *

**Unknown Location  
Unspecified Time & Date**

Unbeknownst to Prophet, the Gerudos, or indeed, the world at large, he was being watched closely. He had attracted the attention of three very powerful beings indeed. Having seen the destruction wrought by Ganondorf, they had taken a special interest in the activities of powerful individuals. And while most of their attention was focused on the man who was growing ever more powerful and who had army ravaging Hyllian trade routes, Din had taken a special interest in this newest arrival to their domain. The Gerudo were her people after all, and it would be remiss of her to let them have another leader like Ganondorf. At least, that was what she told herself.

The reality of the matter was that she was bored, and he was something interesting. Prophet was unlike anything she had seen before, and for an immortal goddess who was supposedly there at the time of creation, that was saying something. For the first time she could remember, she was…surprised. It took quite a bit to surprise a nearly omniscient being such as herself, but this 'Prophet' had somehow managed it. More worrying however, was that even though she knew of him, he was still a closed book to her.

His history was a complete mystery to her, she'd never heard of the homeland he claimed hail from (and she was _absolutely sure_ that she'd know of any country that produced such powerful warriors), much less the cataclysmic events that lead to its downfall. Which made it all the more infuriating when she found out that all but his surface thoughts were completely inaccessible to her. It was almost like there was some other being thwarting all her attempts to access the deeper parts of his mind. But that wasn't possible; it would have required that the other person have either a strong magical connection or direct physical contact, neither of which was present in Prophet's case.

More infuriating than even her inability to access Prophet's deep thoughts was her inability to understand those she could access. After trying and failing to translate it for several minutes Din gave up for the moment. _Nayru!_ she thought in frustration, _What kind of idiot, would design a language as convoluted, ambiguous, and grammatically testy, as this 'English' is?!_

Shaking her head and frowning, she moved her attention to the trials he would soon undergo, modifying some of them to suit her needs and replacing others altogether, the goddess quickly constructed a new set of trials. These new trials would test not only his eligibility for kingship, but his character and the moral fiber of his being as well. Stepping back to admire her work for a moment before rejoining her sisters, she couldn't help but smirk.

One way or another, she'd know what kind of person he was by the end of those tests.

* * *

**Gerudo Fortress, Gerudo Desert**

Even through the suit, you could tell that Prophet was more than a bit satisfied with recent events. Having just finished trouncing the (former) champion of hand-to-hand combat, he had a right to be. But that wasn't the true source of his satisfaction. No, his satisfaction stemmed from a related, but completely different source. He'd discovered that his suit had an undocumented 'Sparring Mode' built right in.

It seemed that when he had designed the suit, Hargreave had anticipated the need for a way to keep the wearer's skills sharp. In previous generations of the Nano Suit this wouldn't have been a problem; suit wearers could just spar with each other. With the Nano Suit 2.0 being a unique prototype however, that simply wasn't possible. Rather than allow his masterpiece to be marred by this flaw, miniscule as it was, Hargreave had developed a 'Sparring Mode', which allowed the wearer to safely spar with unsuited individuals.

When Sparring Mode was activated, the suit's Ionic Electroactive Polymer Liquid Armor was set to mimic human skin, the HUD deactivated, and the wearer's reflexes, stamina, and strength were set to their pre-suit levels, dynamically adjusted by SECOND to compensate for the added bulk of the suit. The end-result allowed a person wearing the suit to spar with others without risking their opponent becoming nothing more than a bloody smear on the wall.

_Of course,_ Prophet thought, wincing as he recalled the searing pain Rue's right hook to his armpit had caused, _it also meant that painful strikes were actually, well, painful._

Shaking off the memory, Prophet made his way over to the ever-present Gerudo pair Anvira and Neeshka, who had watched the fight with great interest. Neeshka was currently looking at him with a little awe and quite a bit of envy, while Anvira looked like an enormous weight had just been lifted off her shoulders.

Ever since Rue had issued a surprise challenge to him earlier that morning, Anvira had been nearly beside herself with worry. However, she'd done a good job hiding it. A very good job, actually. In fact, if it hadn't been for SECOND's rather extensive database of human emotional states and the extensive sensor suite of the suit, he never would have known.

"So," Prophet began, "now that that's over with, why don't we finish up our conversation from earlier? I believe you were just about to tell me more about this 'rite' everyone keeps assuming I know all about."

"You…you don't know?" Anvira asked, a note of surprise in her voice. "But you barely even hesitated to agree to undergo it when we were back in that building!"

"I didn't have a lot of good options at the time," he admitted, a little sheepishly, "I was in an unknown location, at an unknown time, trying to interact with an unknown people who had unknown cultural expectations & taboos. I was also unarmed. And the ceph were attacking.

"Your offer gave me the opportunity to clear up several of those unknowns while gaining only a single additional one. It also meant I wouldn't be running about blindly trying to find my way out of a ceph-infested structure. Being able to save a few lives along the way just made it all the more appealing."

Visibly bristling at the insinuation that she couldn't defend herself, Anvira quickly retorted, "We would've made it out of there safely on our own! There were no ceph along the way and-"

"Maybe you would have," Prophet conceded, cutting her off, "maybe you would have been able to drag Neeshka all the way to the entrance on your own. But what then? In case you've forgotten, the ceph were right outside the door, busy decimating Lenora's forces. Would you have been able to get to them in time without me thinning their numbers from afar? And what about the ceph that flanked us? Would Neeshka have been able to kill it without me acting as a distraction?"

Pausing to give her a moment to think about it he continued, "The right person, in the right place, at the right time, can make all the difference in the world, Anvira. Had I not been there, not a single Gerudo would have made it out of that ambush alive; had you not been there, Neeshka would likely be dead, killed in her sleep by the ceph; and had she not been there, I would still be trapped in that stasis cage."

"But," he said waving away any reply Anvira might have had, "we're getting off topic, I believe you were just about to tell me about the rite". The way he said it made it clear that it wasn't a question.

As Anvira visibly worked to calm herself, Neeshka decided to answer the question in her stead. "The Rite of the Gerudo is undertaken by all initiates. Its purpose is to ensure that any given initiate will be an asset, rather than a liability to the Gerudo people. The rite is composed of a series of trials, each of which tests a different portion of your skills. For example, a trail testing your combat ability and endurance may pit you against a series of enemies that you must defeat. The nature of the trials depends on the nature of the person being tested, the role they will serve if admitted to the Gerudo, and the whims of the Goddess of Sands, so each person goes through a different rite. Should you pass the trials, you need only take the Gerudo Oath to be considered one of the Gerudo."

Even before Neeshka had finished, Prophet was thinking furiously. If he was understanding what she was saying correctly, he had essentially agreed to join the Gerudo. Granted, he'd have to make it through the trials first, but he was confident in his abilities. What really concerned him was what being a Gerudo entailed, or more specifically, whether it would aid or inhibit him from upholding the oath he made to both Michael and himself.

"I see," Prophet began, "Suppose I pass these trials and am sworn in, what then?" Seeing her puzzled look he elaborated, "I mean, what does being Gerudo entail, what rights, responsibilities, and obligations are given or expected of every Gerudo?"

Visibly swallowing, Neeshka looked over at Anvira, eyes pleading for help. "Don't look at me!" Anvira exclaimed, raising her hands as if put a barrier between the two, "You're the one who chose to answer! I'm just an uninvolved bystander."

Neeshka's pleading look quickly turned into a glare fierce enough to make warriors flee in terror, civilians cower in fear, and merchants hastily give out generous discounts. It was also completely ineffective on Anvira, veteran glare warrior that she was. In fact, she looked quite pleased with herself, returning the glare with her own unrepentant grin.

Sighing in defeat, Neeshka turned back to me, a melodramatically morose look on her face, muttering a just audible, "You try to help out and look where it gets you…"

With a shake of her head, she straightened up, looked me in the visor, and asked "Where would you like me to start?"

* * *

**8 hours later and a great deal more informed…**

Leaning back in heavy wooden chair, Prophet let out a sigh. The information he'd just received painted a bittersweet picture for him. After it became apparent that he had a _lot_ of questions, Neeshka and Anvira had decided to move the conversation indoors, specifically the law section of the library. Surprisingly, the chairs they had there were sturdy enough to take his armored weight with ease.

After a few hours of questioning the two women, he learned of the role he would serve should he join the Gerudos. _King,_ he'd thought incredulously at the time, _they want me, a complete stranger, to be their king._

It had taken nearly half an hour after that for the two women to convince him that, no they were not joking, and no he couldn't join the Gerudo in any other capacity. On a side note, their expressions at even being asked the latter question were priceless. He made sure to have SECOND save a copy to his ever-growing Gerudo archives. Their explanation for why this was took several hours and forced him to delve into some of the more religious aspects of their culture.

Ultimately, though, he was forced to conclude that despite their meritocratic and matriarchal outward appearance, the Gerudo were, at their core, a patriarchy. A patriarchy that was, as impossible as it seemed, completely devoid of men. That fun little fact had thrown him for another loop, and Anvira had been forced to explain how only one Gerudo male was born every century, and how, regardless of the father, all children of Gerudos were themselves full-blooded Gerudos.

To Prophet this just screamed 'bio engineered', and he nearly started barraging the two with questions, but he somehow managed to bite his tongue and keep silent. It wouldn't due to jump to conclusions based on hearsay. Not that that stopped him from instructing SECOND to analyze any Gerudo biological samples he might come into contact with for signs of them being the victims of bioweapons.

Moving on, he'd pestered them about what was expected of a Gerudo king. His main fear being that they wouldn't allow him onto the battlefield or would expect other things of him that would keep him from fulfilling his oath to prevent another extinction-level event. To great relief, it turned out that Gerudo were firm believers in the 'lead from the front' leadership style. In fact, one of the main reasons the Gerudo trained so vigorously was to prevent their leaders from being easy pickings in an engagement.

At the time he'd been delighted, it seemed as if taking this position would allow him to pursue his goals unhindered, and even give him additional forces to do so! That was before he learned why the Elite Guards were called the Elite _Guards_, from what he could tell, they were a force nearly identical to Roman Praetorians, acting as bodyguards and at times special forces. While that sounded well and good, it was the expectation that at least two squads of them would surround him at all times that soured him on the idea. There was no way he could be stealthy in those conditions!

And then there were the administrative duties he'd be responsible for. If he was lucky, he'd be able to delegate most of them. But with how his relationship with Rue was going so far, it wasn't hard to imagine her gleefully 'yielding' responsibility for all the necessary paperwork of leadership to him.

Still, after weighing the pros and cons of it, Prophet had to admit that it was a pretty swell offer, especially considering how long they'd known him. In one fell swoop it would provide him with a significant military force under his command, political standing to both Gerudo and foreigners, much more information on the world around him than he currently possessed, and perhaps, just perhaps, the chance to redeem himself for his failure.

It would also shield Anvira from being on the wrong side of politics. Though no one had said it directly, from the bits and pieces he'd gathered he was fairly certain that her fate was tied to his now. Should he fail, her judgment called into question, and every decision she made or opinion she expressed would be viewed with extreme skepticism and his failing would forever be used against her. He didn't think she'd be able to recover from such a blow to her credibility. On the other hand, if he succeeded, she would be praised for her good judge of character and for knowing when to take action.

Normally the consequences confined to a single person wouldn't have concerned him, sacrifice was necessary for victory after all and one person was a small sacrifice in the scheme of things, but something wouldn't let him do that in this case. He now knew that when she'd made the offer to help him she'd taken a huge risk. She'd trusted him with her future. Could he really justify breaking that trust and condemning her to being a pariah just to fulfill his desire to be free of any obligation to others? The answer was no, he couldn't.

With that in mind, he looked up at the two nervous Gerudo. No doubt they were wondering whether he would renege on his promise. "So," he said, drawing out the word and getting their attention, "when do I start the rite?"


End file.
